SEXUAL HARASSMENT CASES AT WORLKPLACE- REDRESSAL

CASE- SEXUAL HARASSEMENT IN QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA IN THE YEAR 2013

This case revolves around a female traffic control worker, Ms. Nunan, who was sexually harassed by
a male co-worker named Mr. Hotson. She made a complaint against the worker as well as the private
company that employed them and the company that contracted the employer. The decision taken by
the tribunal freed both the companies from any liability but same was not applicable to the individual
co-worker. No strict action was taken against Mr. Hotson and the company continued to retain him.
The women was victimized by her male co-worker for 5 months incessantly. Failing to cope up with
the ongoing situation she decided to resign. Moreover, she experienced a Major Depressive Disorder.

REDRESSAL(Actual)- The tribunal awarded compensation amounting to $40,000 for non-financial

damages and $102,217 overall. According to the tribunal, in a normative way, a

woman should make it clear that certain comments and gestures are unwanted and then if they
continue, seeking help from the management would be helpful. The problem with the above statement
is that such an ideal situation does not exists, and this was reason why the women did not take an
initiative to highlight this problem as doing so would have catastrophic consequences on her career.

REDRESSAL(Our Perspective)- The following are the loopholes that existed in this case:

1. The aggrieved women Ms. Nunan kept her peace with the banter rather than doing
something about it.
2. Instead of complaining about the issue during her tenure of employment, she
approached the management 8 days after quitting her job.
3. The management tried to camouflage the case by offering alluring monetary incentive
to Ms. Nunan which she agreed to.
4. Upon questioning Mr. Hotson had a very casual approach towards the situation and
for him it was a way to engage himself amidst the mundane working environment.

Taking the above points into considerations the following could have been done;

1. Formation of Internal Compliant committee should be made mandatory and if possible, it

should be headed by a woman representative. Weekly or fortnightly sessions must be held to
sensitize the workforce to tackle any situation of sexual harassment. The presence of ICC
would have helped Ms. Nunan in providing a platform to raise her voice.
2. Transparency is pivotal for any organization. In such sensitive cases a third party in form of a
public servant or an expert in this domain must be appointed by the organization. This would
provide an impartial testament and hence would help in avoiding any sort of confusion for
future reference.
3. As mentioned above Mr. Hotson did not face any dire consequences of his action and hence
continued to showcase his obscene behavior. In order to avoid such situation the management
should keep a check on the behavior of its employees and if not adhered to the set standards
be penalized for the same.